mucomp - writing sequence learning outcomes--april 2009

Note: this is the draft that was sent to English faculty in preparation for the April 2nd faculty meeting.
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WRITING SEQUENCE LEARNING OUTCOMES

DRAFT

APRIL 2009

Prepared by the Composition Committee
of the English Department

ENGLISH 010 FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING

Students who complete ENGLISH 010 will demonstrate proficiency in 1.) use of writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below each proficiency.

1. Use of writing processes:

invent (freewrite, loop, cluster, list, outline, brainstorm individually and in groups, use the journalist’s questions and the topoi to discover ideas);

arrange (outline or use “discovery drafting” to find appropriate shapes for texts);

compose (draft texts in response to requests for specific kinds of writing);

revise (return to the draft and “see” it again to evaluate the focus, development, and arrangement of a document--revise according to those needs); and

edit (avoid errors and inappropriate word choices that detract from the meaning and attractiveness of a text);

self-evaluate students’ own writing methods;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts;

implement technology effectively in composing processes.

2. Demonstrate critical awareness when reading and writing:

demonstrate an awareness of audience and purpose when writing;

identify the differences between formal and colloquial language, written and oral language;

apply appropriate relationships (cause/effect, compare/contrast, temporal) between ideas for an audience;

model a range of patterns (descriptive, comparison, example, narrative) for developing paragraphs;

analyze texts on sentence and paragraph levels for rhetorical/aesthetic features;

identify central and supporting ideas in primary and secondary texts;

demonstrate an awareness of electronic resources for locating and supporting texts;

practice effective collaborative writing strategies.

3. Exercise consistent stylistic fluency and technical accuracy:

use specific words to express precise meaning for academic and other real-world audiences;

express ideas in a variety of sentence structures, demonstrating awareness of the purposes and demands of subordination and coordination;

write for a community of readers with the language, conventions of grammar and usage, and punctuation appropriate for that audience;

implement effective strategies for revising and editing to produce texts suitable for classroom circulation or on-line publication in a class anthology.

ENGLISH 110 COMPOSITION

Students who complete ENGLISH 110 will demonstrate college-level proficiency in 1.) use of writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below each proficiency.

1. Show facility with writing processes:

invent (freewrite, loop, cluster, list, outline, brainstorm individually and in groups, use the journalist’s questions and the topoi to discover ideas);

arrange (outline, employ discovery drafting, prepare descriptive outlines from notes taken from research materials);

compose (draft texts fluently in response to requests for specific kinds of writing);

revise (return to the draft and “see” it again to evaluate the focus, development, and arrangement of a document--revise according to those needs); and

edit (avoid errors and inappropriate word choices that detract from the meaning and attractiveness of a text);

self-evaluate students’ own writing methods;

adapt composing strategies for academic and other real-world writing;

implement technology effectively in composing processes;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts;

understand that writing is a process, that writing is necessarily part of a larger context or practice, and that writing can be used to effect change.

2. Demonstrate critical awareness when reading and writing:

identify, interpret, and define rhetorical situations and make choices in regard to content, form, focus, organization, audience, conventions, and language use in these situations;

analyze print, verbal, film, and electronic texts in terms of appropriate rhetorical/aesthetic features;

analyze and define the logic and/or organic structure of thought apparent in texts;

identify and argue about the historical, gendered, and culturally-contingent elements of texts;

analyze claims and kinds of support necessary to build arguments typical of given fields in writing studies, for instance persuasive essays, memoirs, reviews, and proposals;

locate and use pertinent ideas in primary and secondary sources in developing written ideas;

center a document on a valuable idea that moves beyond general topics, clichés, or common knowledge;

use effective strategies of argumentation and/or creative production appropriate to students’ chosen rhetorical contexts;

analyze verbally and in writing the rhetorical and/or aesthetic differences among varied kinds of writing (texts);

analyze in students’ own writing and in others’ effectiveness in addressing audiences’ needs through choices in support/evidence/detail, genre, rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos), tone, and authorial stance;

identify the on-going impact of technology upon writing, in particular the possibilities for global communication--global audiences with diverse needs;

practice effective collaborative writing strategies, perhaps in a web-based environment.

3. Exercise consistent stylistic fluency and technical accuracy:

express ideas in a variety of sentence structures, demonstrating proficiency with subordination and coordination; form varied, technically correct sentences and sentence combinations;

write for a community of readers with the language, conventions of grammar and usage, documentation style, and punctuation appropriate for that audience;

apply in their critiques of students’ own and other students’ writing key terms that describe the generic and technical elements of texts; use a lexicon of stylistic and technical terms for text formation;

edit texts to help author fulfill intentions and readers’ expectations;

· demonstrate an awareness of design principles in regard to preparing tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph layouts for supportive inclusion with print texts;

implement appropriate, effective strategies for revising and editing to produce a proficient text suitable for class circulation and/or on-line publication, such as in a first-year writers’ anthology.

ENGLISH 311 ADVANCED COMPOSITION

Students who complete ENGLISH 311 will demonstrate at the advanced level 1.) facility with writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level texts, with “professional” indicating a level of competency that meets the discourse expectations of the workplace, whether that location is a school district, non-profit organization, industry, or corporation, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below.

1. Show facility with writing processes:

develop writing through a process approach, demonstrating knowledge of the broad range of choices in and context of the writing process: knowledge that writing is necessarily part of a larger context or practice, and that writing can be used to effect change;

demonstrate flexibility in applying a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of communication contexts;

evaluate writing, identify requisite revisions, and implement necessary changes for effective discourses;

apply appropriate technologies effectively to composing processes;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts.

2. Demonstrate critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level texts:

identify, interpret, and define rhetorical situations and make choices in regard to content, form, focus, organization, audience, conventions, and language use in these situations;

demonstrate critical thinking, reading, and writing skills through preparation of sustained, thoroughly supported, appropriately expressed documents, revealing a repertoire of rhetorical strategies tailored to students’ purposes and their readers' needs;

demonstrate an awareness of the history, purposes, structures, conventions, theories, and cultural situatedness of rhetoric;

apply rhetorical principles to real-world situations, in particular to everyday oral,

written, and visual texts in the academy, the workplace, technology, home-life, and the media: articulate how writing functions (and has functioned) both in students’ own lives and the world around them;

apply the metadiscourse of rhetoric to analyses of both students' texts and those of other writers;

refine sensitivity to the rhetorical needs of students’ disciplinary specializations;

identify and research an issue and write documents to resolve the issue;

identify the on-going impact of technology upon writing, in particular the possibilities for global communication, by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs;

effectively implement appropriate technologies to create and support texts;

implement effective collaborative writing strategies, including web-based collaboration.

3. Exercise stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level:

demonstrate enhanced fluency and distinctiveness in writing styles pertinent to students’ fields of specialization;

identify and apply writing conventions specific to students’ professional writing contexts, and identify and apply those conventions that transfer across writing contexts;

· demonstrate an awareness of design principles in regard to preparing tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph layouts for supportive inclusion with print texts;

implement appropriate, effective strategies for revising and editing to produce a proficient text suitable for circulation and/or publication in the workplace or for a public audience—a situated piece of civic discourse.

ENGLISH 312 TECHNICAL WRITING

Students who complete ENGLISH 312 will demonstrate at the advanced level 1.) facility with writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level texts, with “professional” indicating a level of competency that meets the discourse expectations of the workplace, whether that location is a school district, non-profit organization, industry, or corporation, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below.

1. Show facility with writing processes:

understand that writing is a process, that writing is necessarily part of a larger context or practice, and that writing can be used to effect change;

demonstrate flexibility in applying a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of technical communication contexts;

evaluate writing, identify requisite revisions, and implement necessary changes for effective discourses;

· demonstrate an awareness of the fact that technical writing is deeply embedded in narrative writing;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations;

· develop and implement strategies for effective peer criticism: acting as an effective reader and mentor; incorporating useful suggestions into students’ final drafts;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts.

2. Critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level technical discourses:

· demonstrate awareness of the rhetorical situation: when preparing technical documents, identify audiences’ needs and write with a clear sense of purpose and intended consequences, realizing that writing can produce unintended consequences as well;

· identify effective composing strategies to create modes of discourse typical of technical writing: electronic and/or hard-copy letters, memoranda, formal reports, short informal reports, manuals, instructions, informational reports, summaries, abstracts, proposals, literature reviews; correspondence writing for websites, wikis and blogs; students’ own websites, wikis and blogs;

· identify, research, and respond to an issue important to students’ professional fields, linking students’ solutions to the problem they are trying to solve;

· identify strategies for researching and reporting industry and scholarly information from trade and scholarly publications to support claims;

· identify the discourse features that distinguish students’ own discipline and institutional community from that of others, such as, for example, the diverse discourses of environmental science, astrophysics, mathematics, or engineering;

· demonstrate in speaking and in writing an understanding of the professional literature of their field of study; their perspectives on the practices and communication of people working in their field; and the life and issues of the larger world of work and technology;

· locate their technical writing within and through a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practice in their writing; communicate in an ethically responsible manner;

identify the on-going impact of technology upon technical writing, in particular the possibilities for global communication, by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs.

3. Stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level:

· demonstrate an awareness of design principles in regard to preparing tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photograph layouts for supportive inclusion with print texts;

· implement effective strategies for oral presentation planning, drafting, and delivery;

· implement effective strategies for revision and editing to produce texts suitable for circulation and/or publication in the workplace.

ENGLISH 313 JOURNALISM

Students who complete ENGLISH 313 will demonstrate at the advanced level 1.) facility with writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level texts, with “professional” indicating a level of competency that meets the discourse expectations of the workplace, whether that location is a local, regional, or national newspaper, magazine, or journal in electronic or hard-copy formats, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below.

1. Show facility with writing processes:

understand that writing is a process, that writing is necessarily part of a larger context or practice, and that writing can be used to effect change;

demonstrate flexibility in applying a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of journalistic contexts—particularly in relation to accommodating deadlines;

evaluate writing, identify requisite revisions, and implement necessary changes for effective discourses;

· demonstrate an awareness of the fact that journalism can be deeply embedded in narrative writing;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations;

· develop and implement strategies for effective peer criticism: acting as an effective reader and mentor; incorporating useful suggestions into students’ final drafts;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts.

2. Critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level journalistic texts:

· demonstrate awareness of the rhetorical situation: identify in journalistic discourses audiences’ needs and write with a clear sense of purpose and intended consequences, realizing that writing can produce unintended consequences as well;

· identify effective composing strategies to create modes of discourse typical of journalism: electronic and/or hard-copy informational articles, feature articles, interviews, reviews, editorials, sports reporting, and obituaries; correspondence writing for electronic news services, websites, wikis and blogs; students’ own websites, wikis, and blogs;

· identify, research, and respond to an issue important to students’ particular fields of journalism, linking students’ discourses to issues they are trying to explore;

· identify strategies for researching and reporting, using information from diverse sources to verify and support claims;

· implement effective professional strategies for planning, conducting, and drafting oral and/or electronic interviews;

· identify the discourse features that distinguish students’ own field and institutional community from others, such as, for example, the diverse discourses of science writing, consumer protection reports, theatrical reviews, or sports reporting;

· demonstrate in speaking and in writing an understanding of the professional literature of students’ field of journalistic study; their perspectives on the practices and communication of people working in their field; and the life and issues of the larger world of journalism and technology;

· locate their journalistic writing within and through a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practice in their writing; communicate in an ethically responsible manner;

identify the on-going impact of technology upon journalism, in particular the possibilities for global communication, by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs.

3. Stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level of journalism:

· demonstrate an awareness of design principles in regard to coordinating tables, charts, graphs, technical illustrations, and photographs with print texts in page layouts;

· demonstrate rhetorical sensitivity in regard to diction and document design for diverse populations--sensitivity to public discourse conventions;

· implement effective strategies for revision and editing to produce texts suitable for circulation and/or publication in newspapers, magazines, journals, blogs, websites, and other electronic or hard-copy print venues.

ENGLISH 316 BUSINESS WRITING

Students who complete ENGLISH 316 will demonstrate at the advanced level 1.) facility with writing processes, 2.) critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level texts, with “professional” indicating a level of competency that meets the discourse expectations of the workplace, whether that location is a school district, non-profit organization, industry, or corporation, and 3.) stylistic fluency and technical accuracy at the professional level. These goals may be achieved through the sub-goals listed below.

1. Show facility with writing processes:

understand that writing is a process, that writing is necessarily part of a larger context or practice, and that writing can be used to effect change;

demonstrate flexibility in applying a repertoire of invention, arrangement, composing, and revising/editing strategies to a variety of business communication contexts;

evaluate writing, identify requisite revisions, and implement necessary changes for effective discourses in a timely fashion;

· demonstrate an awareness of the fact that business writing is deeply embedded in narrative writing;

· implement strategies for effective collaborative writing, including web-based collaborations;

· develop and implement strategies for effective peer criticism: acting as an effective reader and mentor; incorporating useful suggestions into students’ final drafts;

· use journaling to support the study and production of texts.

2. Critical awareness when reading and writing professional-level business texts:

· demonstrate awareness of the rhetorical situation: identify in business discourses audiences’ needs and write with a clear sense of purpose and intended consequences, realizing that writing can produce unintended consequences as well;

· identify effective composing strategies to create modes of discourse typical of writing in business contexts: electronic and/or hard-copy letters, memoranda, formal reports, short informal reports, informational reports, recommendations, summaries, abstracts, proposals, literature reviews; correspondence writing for websites, wikis and blogs; students’ own websites, wikis, and blogs;

· identify, research, and respond to an issue important to students’ particular business fields, linking students’ solutions to the problem they are trying to solve;

· identify strategies for researching and reporting business and scholarly information from trade and scholarly publications to support claims;

· identify the discourse features that distinguish students’ own field and institutional community from others, such as, for example, the diverse discourses of economics, finance, marketing, management science, or accounting;

· demonstrate in speaking and in writing an understanding of the professional literature of students’ field of study; their perspectives on the practices and communication of people working in their field; and the life and issues of the larger world of work and technology;

· locate their business writing within and through a clearly articulated value system, incorporating ethical standards and practice in their writing; communicate in an ethically responsible manner;

identify the on-going impact of technology upon business writing, in particular the possibilities for global communication, by reading and evaluating online writing venues (e.g., wikis, blogs, websites, etc.) that provide students global audiences with diverse needs.